An Interview with Jesse Alberto

One of the great young hair stylists in our nations capital, Jesse Alberto has allowed his talent to flourish and his resume to grow. Since he began work at Fernando Cellini, located on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Jesse has maximized his opportunities and all but ensured a bright future in the fashion industry. In this interview for Antidote Magazine, we sat down with Jesse to see what influences him to be as great as he is.

Thank you for joining us Jesse, we know you’re a busy man.

It’s my pleasure, thanks for having me.

Without a doubt, your personal style is one of the best we’ve seen in this city. What are your influences?

Music, fashion, food, travelling and people watching inspire me. That’s basically where I get my inspiration for everything that I do.

Based on your look, you can clearly see the music influence in your life. What’s on your iPod right now?

I like underground bands so I’d have to say “Portugal demand”. They have a really old school feel to them like the Beatles and they’re amazing. That’s one of my top favourites right now, then obviously the Kings of Leon. I like a lot of rock and punk influence. It all comes together with hair and fashion. They all have an influence on each other.

Whenever I work, I’ve always got music playing. Do you always listen to music when you cut hair?

Music is my life; I go to bed listening to it and wake up listening to it. Without music I can’t cut hair, not going to lie. I need it with me or I’m a robot, I can’t even work.

You’ve had a lot of great experiences while working at Fernando Cellini. Of all the great things that have happened while working in this industry, what is the most memorable?

It’s probably the first time I actually got stuck doing hair. Long story short, I was by myself and I had to figure it out without any assistance. I was such a young kid with no experience but when I was finished, it was just amazing. It was kind of like a miracle. From there my love started growing, I got more confidence and it never stopped. Aside from that, my first photo shoot, my first runway show working backstage… those are all memories that will never leave me.

Who inspired you to start doing hair?

I grew up with girls, no guys, doing the girly thing. My cousin probably inspired me the most. She got me into fashion at a young age so when I started, everything took off quickly and I was great at it. So she’s probably my biggest inspiration.

What is the number one piece of advice you could give someone on hair?

People always overthink their hair. If people learned to just get a really good haircut then let nature do it’s thing, your hair would be 100 times better than if you spent 2 hours on it. That’s the main tip I could give, let your hair do its natural thing, don’t fight it.

Andrew Carter is a well renowned entrepreneur with an extensive background in marketing and specifically, trendsetting. He founded antidote magazine in 2001 and has been Editor in Chief since it's conception. This position allows him to sustain creative control, while still engaging in areas of design, photography, all the while ensuring a high caliber of journalism for the benefit of our readers. As Editor in Chief, his sole mission is to continue to provide you with the most dynamic, smart and compelling national magazine.